Pygmy Cormorant
Encyclopedia
The Pygmy Cormorant is a member of the cormorant
family of seabird
s. It breeds in southeastern Europe
and southwestern Asia
. It is partially migratory
, with northern populations wintering further south, mostly within in its breeding range. It is a rare vagrant to western Europe
.
The Pygmy Cormorant breeds colonially
in wetlands with still or slowly flowing fresh water
in coastal deltas and well-vegetated freshwater lakes. It builds a nest
of grass and twigs in a low tree or reedbed, into which it lays its 3-6 egg
s. Both parents incubate for 27–30 days, and nestlings become independent after 70 days.
It is a medium-sized green-glossed black bird
, 45–55 cm long and with a 75–90 cm wingspan
. It has a long tail and short thick bill
. Adults have small white feather
tufts on the head neck and underparts in the breeding season. Non-breeding birds have a white throat. The sexes are similar, but juveniles are duller and browner.
This species is distinguished from the Great Cormorant
and the Common Shag
by its much smaller size, lighter build, and long tail.
It feeds mainly on fish
, often hunting in groups, and perches in trees between fishing expeditions.
Threats include the drainage and serious degradation of wetlands and their associated woodland, water pollution
, disturbance, and the illegal hunting
and drowning of many Pygmy Cormorants in fishing nets.
The breeding range, once much more extensive, continues to contract, and the breeding population of the species in Europe is estimated at only 6,400 to 7,300 pairs. The biggest colony is in the Danube
Delta, numbering 4,000 pairs, but this seems certain to plunge due to a massive canalisation scheme, which despite the protected status of the delta, commenced in May 2004.
The Pygmy Cormorant is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA
) applies.
Cormorant
The bird family Phalacrocoracidae is represented by some 40 species of cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed recently, and the number of genera is disputed.- Names :...
family of seabird
Seabird
Seabirds are birds that have adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same environmental problems and feeding niches have resulted in similar adaptations...
s. It breeds in southeastern Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
and southwestern Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
. It is partially migratory
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
, with northern populations wintering further south, mostly within in its breeding range. It is a rare vagrant to western Europe
Western Europe
Western Europe is a loose term for the collection of countries in the western most region of the European continents, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a geographic entity—the region lying in the...
.
The Pygmy Cormorant breeds colonially
Bird colony
A bird colony is a large congregation of individuals of one or more species of bird that nest or roost in close proximity at a particular location. Many kinds of birds are known to congregate in groups of varying size; a congregation of nesting birds is called a breeding colony...
in wetlands with still or slowly flowing fresh water
Fresh Water
Fresh Water is the debut album by Australian rock and blues singer Alison McCallum, released in 1972. Rare for an Australian artist at the time, it came in a gatefold sleeve...
in coastal deltas and well-vegetated freshwater lakes. It builds a nest
Bird nest
A bird nest is the spot in which a bird lays and incubates its eggs and raises its young. Although the term popularly refers to a specific structure made by the bird itself—such as the grassy cup nest of the American Robin or Eurasian Blackbird, or the elaborately woven hanging nest of the...
of grass and twigs in a low tree or reedbed, into which it lays its 3-6 egg
Egg (biology)
An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...
s. Both parents incubate for 27–30 days, and nestlings become independent after 70 days.
It is a medium-sized green-glossed black bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
, 45–55 cm long and with a 75–90 cm wingspan
Wingspan
The wingspan of an airplane or a bird, is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777 has a wingspan of about ; and a Wandering Albatross caught in 1965 had a wingspan of , the official record for a living bird.The term wingspan, more technically extent, is...
. It has a long tail and short thick bill
Beak
The beak, bill or rostrum is an external anatomical structure of birds which is used for eating and for grooming, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food, courtship and feeding young...
. Adults have small white feather
Feather
Feathers are one of the epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on birds and some non-avian theropod dinosaurs. They are considered the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates, and indeed a premier example of a complex evolutionary novelty. They...
tufts on the head neck and underparts in the breeding season. Non-breeding birds have a white throat. The sexes are similar, but juveniles are duller and browner.
This species is distinguished from the Great Cormorant
Great Cormorant
The Great Cormorant , known as the Great Black Cormorant across the Northern Hemisphere, the Black Cormorant in Australia and the Black Shag further south in New Zealand, is a widespread member of the cormorant family of seabirds...
and the Common Shag
Common Shag
The European Shag or Common Shag is a species of cormorant. It breeds around the rocky coasts of western and southern...
by its much smaller size, lighter build, and long tail.
It feeds mainly on fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
, often hunting in groups, and perches in trees between fishing expeditions.
Threats include the drainage and serious degradation of wetlands and their associated woodland, water pollution
Pollution
Pollution is the introduction of contaminants into a natural environment that causes instability, disorder, harm or discomfort to the ecosystem i.e. physical systems or living organisms. Pollution can take the form of chemical substances or energy, such as noise, heat or light...
, disturbance, and the illegal hunting
Poaching
Poaching is the illegal taking of wild plants or animals contrary to local and international conservation and wildlife management laws. Violations of hunting laws and regulations are normally punishable by law and, collectively, such violations are known as poaching.It may be illegal and in...
and drowning of many Pygmy Cormorants in fishing nets.
The breeding range, once much more extensive, continues to contract, and the breeding population of the species in Europe is estimated at only 6,400 to 7,300 pairs. The biggest colony is in the Danube
Danube
The Danube is a river in the Central Europe and the Europe's second longest river after the Volga. It is classified as an international waterway....
Delta, numbering 4,000 pairs, but this seems certain to plunge due to a massive canalisation scheme, which despite the protected status of the delta, commenced in May 2004.
The Pygmy Cormorant is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA
AEWA
The Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds is the largest of its kind developed so far under the Bonn Convention. It was concluded on 16 June 1995 at The Hague, the Netherlands and entered into force on 1 November 1999 after the required number of at least fourteen...
) applies.